Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

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Reviews

'One of the outstanding releases of the Haydn celebratory year' (International Record Review)

'A marvellously polished collection of performances … he is a model of correctness, with enough wit, exuberance and the most exquisite lightness of touches to keep the music buoyant' (The Guardian)

'Hamelin is most associated with virtuoso fireworks for piano, but he can also miniaturise himself exquisitely to suit Haydn's wit and elegance … the spring in his fingers is delightful' (The Times)

'As always, Haydn's originality astonishes and delights in his piano music as much as in his symphonies and string quartets. Hamelin revels in the tongue-in-cheek high jinks of the finale to the E minor sonata (No 34) … and is especially compelling in the great C major (No 48) … works that rank with the finest creations of the Viennese Classical period. An unmissable bargain at two-discs-for-the-price of one' (The Sunday Times)

'They sound absolutely superb, in the right hands, on the modern grand piano. And Marc-André Hamelin has the right hands, as his first two-disc set showed … playing of crisp clarity and deep feeling, superbly recorded' (Dominion Post, New Zealand)

'This Hyperion double set contains some of the finest performances of Haydn sonatas I have heard. Hamelin's playing overflows with ardent lyricism and I especially enjoyed his naturalness of rubato. The close sound quality from the Henry Wood Hall is impressive and the booklet essay by Richard Wigmore is helpful too' (MusicWeb International)

Introduction

In 1789, the Leipzig publisher Breitkopf announced that Haydn was writing ‘six Clavier sonatas’ for publication by subscription. Breitkopf evidently failed to attract sufficient subscribers, and in the event only one sonata appeared, the C major No 48. Although in two movements only, like the sonatas for Marie Esterházy, it is far grander than they are, and exploits the fortepiano’s whole range with unprecedented power and flamboyance. In the sonata-rondo finale the keyboard even becomes a surrogate orchestra. The second half of the contredanse theme evokes bantering repartee between bassoons and oboes, while just before the end a rousing tutti, complete with timpani rolls, is comically deflated by timidly stuttering violins. Just as original in its sonorities is the opening Andante con espressione, music both elevated and capricious that crosses Haydn’s favourite double variation form (the minore theme is both a variation and a development of the rhapsodic opening) with the spirit of a free fantasia.